Too “woke” for his taste, Trump slams the door (again) on UNESCO

According to US President Donald Trump, UNESCO has “anti-American” and “anti-Israeli” leanings as well as a “woke” agenda.

This is the third time the United States has left UNESCO in 40 years, twice under the Trump administration.

President Trump had already withdrawn the United States from UNESCO during his first term in office in 2017, with the institution’s “persistent anti-Israel bias” as his justification. The country then rejoined the agency in 2023 during Joe Biden’s term.

“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” said Anna Kelly, assistant White House spokeswoman.

In a statement, UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay said she “deeply regrets” the American president’s decision, which will take effect at the end of December 2026.

However, Ms. Azoulay explained that the UN agency had anticipated this eventuality, and was ready to face it thanks to structural reforms and diversified funding sources: “Through the efforts led by the Organization since 2018, the downward trend in the US contribution has been offset, to represent only 8% of the Organization’s total budget”, she explained.

“[UNESCO] advocates an ideological, globalist roadmap for international development that contradicts our America First foreign policy,” argued State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce in a statement.

Ms. Bruce added that UNESCO’s decision to admit the “State of Palestine” as a member state in 2011 is “highly problematic”, contrary to US policy and has contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israeli rhetoric within the organization”.

According to Ms. Azoulay, the argument of anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic bias within the organization,[contradicts] the reality of UNESCO’s efforts, notably in teaching about the Shoah and fighting anti-Semitism.

According to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, this is “a necessary measure to promote justice and Israel’s right to fair treatment within the UN system”.